


Together, Couple Feet Apart

by Lost_Elf



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff, Gentle Handsome Jack (Borderlands), Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Nightmares, Non-Consensual Somnophilia, OOC characters, Panic Attacks, Past Rape/Non-con, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, TW the nightmare is graphic and noncon, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:22:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26197084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lost_Elf/pseuds/Lost_Elf
Summary: Rhys wakes up from a nightmare that Jack had caused, reminded of old trauma, and Jack comforts him.AKA when you don't know how to handle your emotions so you make your comfort character go through something similar and give him warm tea and an understanding boyfriend to make it better.
Relationships: Handsome Jack/Rhys (Borderlands), Rhys/Unknown Male Character
Comments: 2
Kudos: 32





	Together, Couple Feet Apart

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger Warning: The nightmare is graphic. I chose not to use warnings on this work but there is a short rape scene. You have been warned.
> 
> Also, this work doesn't reach my usual quality, but hey, posting anyway.

Rhys woke up confused, at first not registering properly what was up and what was down. He was laying face down even though he fell asleep on his back. There was the familiar feeling of a dick in his ass, moving back and forth in shallow thrusts, the head brushing over his prostate. His own dick was half hard, trapped underneath him, but he didn’t feel aroused, it felt uncomfortable, more like an unwanted reflex.

A sweaty body was pressing him down into the mattress, making it impossible to move, or to breathe. He tried to arch against it, but his body was sleep slack and muscles refused to work, giving him almost no strength. He was not sure whether the man above him noticed his discomfort, but he didn’t stop his actions, continuing to roll his hips into Rhys’.

 _That’s alright, don’t panic_ , Rhys thought. _Just tell him you don’t like it and he’ll stop. It’s… It’s okay._

“Hhhhg…” he tried to say, but his tongue was numb, like the rest of his body. He had to try again and again until it finally put the words together. “H-honey, _ah_ , stop!”

But he didn’t. He merely paused for a second, grunted and then picked up a faster pace, harsher. Usually, Rhys would be into it. Maybe he should have been into it. But it felt wrong. His body was hot all over, and he felt more powerless than he ever had.

Rhys wakes up to hot weight on his lower back, travelling up and down, down… He shudders, the tremble settling in his body, so strong that the hand must feel it. He wants to tell his partner to stop, but he knows that he won’t be heard. He knows that he won’t be able to push the hand away, or make the hotness and suffocating weight move, let him breathe.

“Rhysie?” a soft voice asks, and the hand stills, fingers just tracing the curve of his ass. It quickly withdraws, leaving him pleasantly alone. He curls up into a tight ball right after, pulling the sheets tight around his body.

“Rhysie, babe…” the voice whispers, sweet and tempting him to roll around, seek the embrace of his lover. But a fear has settled in his bones, telling him of the dangers that are waiting for him in the darkness. He had escaped them once, shortly after it was over, but if he is to live through the terrors again, he wants to be ready, he must not trust the honey sweet voice.

There is a small grunt of effort behind him, sending a jolt of fear through Rhys’ whole body as he is reminded of a very similar sound on a night long ago, and then there is light. It startles him fully awake, sleep bleeding out of his body and blood rushing into his brain, sharpening his mind.

“Bad dream?” Jack asks next to him, still keeping a distance. “Do you want me to…?”

His tongue is finally waking up too, so Rhys speaks up, surprising himself with how loud his voice is in the silent room. “N-no,” he breaths out, shaking his head. “Stay here. I just… I…”

“I know,” Jack hums kindly, staying sat where he is. “I know baby. You’re safe here, you know that? Nobody will hurt you.”

After taking a few deep breaths, Rhys manages to leave his defensive position and roll closer to Jack. The CEO wraps his arms around him slowly, being careful not to squeeze the younger man too hard.

“Sorry,” he mutters into Rhys’ hair.

“You didn’t do anything,” the younger man retorts, shaking his head. “It was just my usual.” He knows better than to say that it is stupid, but Jack hears it in the undertone anyway.

“I shouldn’t’ve been touching you,” he reminds gently, chasing his boyfriend’s worries away. “You fell asleep in my arms, and it’s so rare that when I woke up and still had you close, I just… got too carried away, sorry. I should have given you space.”

“It’s not your fault,” Rhys argues, but they both know that it is, in fact, Jack’s fault. The panic attack, that is. They have been together for a year now, and Rhys had explained to him on the very first night why he needs space when he sleeps and what happened to him five years ago.

“I’ll try to be more careful,” Jack promises. It’s like they were both having a different conversation as they say what they feel needs to be said and not what really matters. But Rhys knows that this is hard for the both of them, and he doesn’t mind that Jack isn’t really listening. Or that he won’t be able to bring this topic up in the morning, because with the first ray of sunlight, Jack puts on his masks and pushes aside all feelings and gentleness.

They are here now, and Rhys enjoys every second he gets to spend with the loving Handsome Jack, the caring boyfriend that will stay up with him in the middle of the night when he wakes up from a nightmare, even though Rhys won’t even give him a hug in return.

“Do you want something?” the CEO asks, ever willing to give his lover anything he asks for.

“Could you make me a tea?” Rhys asks, and he shudders when Jack chuckles, the warm sound making him feel all fuzzy and loved.

“Of course, babe. I’ll be right back,” the older man promises, getting out of bed. Rhys lets go of him and curls up back on his side, and even though his hair is begging to be ruffled and the arch of his back is begging to be stroked, Jack resists, knowing that those touches would only startle his boyfriend and bring no comfort.

Rhys can’t doze off again with the memories still on his mind, but he enjoys the silence and calmness of the empty room. It’s not that he doesn’t want to spend time with Jack, doesn’t want to have him here, but there are clear boundaries that must not be crossed, or a nice night changes into another terror, and sometimes it’s just easier to simply not test their luck.

Jack comes back with a cup of tea, one ice cube floating in it to cool it down to a pleasant temperature faster. He sets the cup on Rhys’ nightstand and walks around the bed back to his side while the younger man takes a few sips, the unhealthy amount of honey in the hot beverage calming his nerves.

While Rhys drinks his tea, Jack is sitting, leaning against the headboard and doing something on his ECHO. When the tea is put away and Rhys lies on his back again, Jack puts the ECHO aside and reaches for the switch. “Ready to try and sleep now?” he asks, hand hovering over the switch.

And Rhys knows that if he asked for the lights to be left on, Jack would have no problem sleeping like that. But it is not one of those nights, so he hums in approval and nods his head. The lights go off, and Jack settles in the bed next to him.

Rolling onto his side for a while, Rhys hugs his partner and presses a kiss to the side of his neck, smiling when Jack hums like a happy cat and returns the kiss tenfold, pressing gentle pecks to his face and hair. He indulges in the contact for another minute, and when he feels himself getting restless, he turns onto his other side and gets comfortable, alone in the darkness. Jack does the same behind him, and they both sleep like usually – together, just a couple feet apart.

**Author's Note:**

> Here is my [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ElfWriting).
> 
> I feel like I should say something, so... I find it funny that I made Rhys go through something just a little bit worse than I did to justify all the trauma. But I'm glad he has someone to help him with it.
> 
> Lately, I've been coming to terms with the fact that I'm not a tactile person anymore. I can spend hours daydreaming about some human contact, but when it comes to actually getting some, I panic and try to avoid it. I don't like hugs or kisses anymore, I don't like cuddles and prefer to be left alone. Cuddling at night is off the table for reasons mentioned above. And I hate it. This is not me, this is my trauma taking over me, and I don't want trauma to be my main personality trait, but what can I really do?
> 
> I want a hug but also not.


End file.
